Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León visited Cape Canaveral in 1513. Rockledge, founded in 1887 and incorporated as a city in 1925, was named for the formation of coquina rock that appears as ledges along the shore. Cocoa was founded by fishermen and first settled about 1860; it was incorporated as a town in 1895 and as a city in 1911. The origin of its name is uncertain; it may have been named for the coco plum, or the name may have come from a box of baking cocoa. Early development was based on fishing, livestock raising, and citrus cultivation. Both cities grew rapidly in the 1950s and ’60s as space exploration facilities were developed at Cape Canaveral.

The two communities, which are mainly residential, now largely depend on tourism, citrus processing and shipping, and the military and aerospace industries of the John F. Kennedy Space Center and Patrick Air Force Base. Brevard Community College, at Cocoa, was founded in 1960. There is also a branch campus of the University of Central Florida in the city. Cocoa is also home to the Brevard Museum of History and Natural Science. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Canaveral National Seashore, and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge are north of the cities. Pop. (2000) Cocoa city, 16,412; Rockledge city, 20,170; (2010) Cocoa city, 17,140; Rockledge city, 24,926